


the incandescence of happiness.

by petitelotus (cosmickiwi)



Category: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018), The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
Genre: ???? - Freeform, F/M, Letters, like is there a better man than dawsey adams, the answer is no, this is just because I’m obsessed with Dawsey and Juliet honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-03-26 19:22:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19012249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmickiwi/pseuds/petitelotus
Summary: Five letters from Juliet to Sidney over the course of her first year of marriage to Dawsey.





	1. TO SIDNEY FROM JULIET

Sidney,

I am elated to know that you arrived safe in Australia and without suffering further injuries, although I know that if you did, you would be in Piers’ capable hands. 

In answer to your question, I am happy to report that I am as in love as ever. More, if that is even possible. Dawsey is so gentle in his ways. You should see it, the way the pigs quiet right down the moment he comes into their view. Or the way he tosses Kit up into the air, her delightful giggles filling the air. I imagine that flowers perk up when he walks by, the same way that I do. He is proverbial sunshine, bottled up into a single human being and I am so in awe of him, truly.

I’m not sure I could have envisioned a better life for myself if I had tried. Certainly, I never imagined this future. And yet, I find myself incredibly grateful for the way things have turned out. 

In one of my first letters to Dawsey, I said something about books having homing beacons to take them to their perfect readers, and how lovely it would be if that were true. In some ways, I think that perhaps it is true. Without the exact events that occurred to bring my book to Dawsey, and his letters to me, we might have never known of the existence of one another. And how tragic would that be, the possibility that I could have married any number of Markham Reynolds without ever coming across Dawsey in the first place.

Not that there’s much wrong with Mark, I’m sure he’s the most perfect man for someone. That someone just is not, and would have never been, me.

Isola says that there’s a theory, one she gathered out of a book that came from the east, that when we are born we have red threads tied upon our ankles by the gods. Those red strings are what bring us to the people we are destined to meet, and they may tangle but never break. An interesting concept of fate altogether, I believe.

Let me know when your red string returns you to London, as I would like to bring Kit to visit the city, and you.

Much love,  
Juliet


	2. TO SIDNEY FROM JULIET

Sidney,

I am writing this on instruction from Kit. She sits here in my lap as I write, pretending that she is able to read absolutely everything I am saying, and providing her imaginary correction when necessary. Soon, she truly will be able to read, and to write – and then, I fear, you will have an endless supply of letters to respond to from her. She loves you very much, you know.

Anyways, per her demand, I am to write that she misses her Uncle Sidney and that she wants to know when you intend to return for a visit on Guernsey. I, too, would like to know the answer to that. The salt of the ocean in the air and the wildflowers decorating every hill would do you well, I think. And perhaps Piers, as well? Nothing could be better for his health than fresh air, especially of the island variety.

London was beautiful, of course. I found that Dawsey truly seemed to enjoy the strawberry pastries from the bakery you love so much, and Kit simply abhorred having to wear shoes everywhere. Although, I do believe your gifts to her made the experience a pleasant one, despite the shoe requirement. I missed my life here even more than I imagined. With every commercial store and car I passed, I could only think of my quiet farm life and how I longed for it so.

Truly, the air here is different, Sidney.

I hope you visit us soon, but I must go. Isola is coming over to pick Kit up, and I must help her pack her things. It is Wednesday, and every Wednesday they have their detective club, in which Kit carries the suitcase you gave her full of all sorts of investigative things over to Isola’s house. The two of them have ‘investigations’, which really just means that they travel around Guernsey and while Isola eavesdrops and tries to learn new information without being noticed for it, Kit finds new treasures and tries to pinpoint their origin. 

Thus far, Isola has learned that Miss Olsen receives letters from a mystery man (she deems the writer a man, because she saw her clutching them to her chest and looking ‘absolutely in love’) and Kit has returned a beaded necklace to its rightful owner, but she has yet to uncover where the golden coins she found under a bench came from.

Hope to see you soon,  
Juliet (and Kit)


	3. TO SIDNEY FROM JULIET

Sidney,

Sophie will be here before the weeks end, and I have been in a flurry trying to prepare for her arrival. I am so thrilled to see her, especially now that baby Elsie is old enough to travel without becoming sickly! I cannot wait to hold her. How tiny she must be, and cute!

Kit and Dominic well get along, I hope. They are not too far apart in age, so I’m sure they will find something that they have in common. Perhaps their affinity for adventure, and imaginary things? I learn new things about children every day that I spend with Kit. She still enjoys playing Dead Bride, though not nearly as much as she used to. She still fancies herself a detective, though, and does still adore her paper dolls. 

She has also taken to helping me in the kitchen, which is every bit as much of a learning experience for me as it is for her. I follow along with a cookbook, and do my best to recreate the recipe, and Kit helps in any way she possibly can. Sometimes, she helps snap peas, or I help her to measure an ingredient or allow her to pour it in by herself. She’s also an excellent help with cleaning, but mostly because she enjoys feeding the extra scrap to the pigs.

I have also been practicing pie making, and while I make the most horrible mess, I am happy to report that my blackberry pie is actually edible. I plan to make it for Sophie, and you whenever you return to visit.

By then, I’m sure Kit will be rolling out dough with more skill than I could ever hope to have of my own.

Always,  
Juliet


	4. TO SIDNEY FROM JULIET

Sidney,

Sophie is here, finally, and the only damper to my happiness is that you are not here with us. I dare say that we acted like children again the moment she arrived, squealing and hugging each other so tight I think we nearly passed out from lack of oxygen. Dominic came next, practically smothered with kisses before he managed to wiggle out of my arms. And Elsie! What a darling child. Alexander handed her over to me with a kiss to the cheek and I immediately fell in love. She is so small, but her little hand grasped onto my finger with such strength. I cannot wait to see her grow.

I want to tell you what is going on around me as I write, because that is the only way I can make it feel as though you are truly here, and that would make my life in this moment totally complete. 

We are sitting outside of the cottage in the garden, and Sophie and Isola are discussing the properties of elderberry-mint tonic and trading the names of female romance authors. Dawsey and Alexander are out of range of my hearing, but the two of them get along splendidly, making them both more talkative than I have really had the pleasure of bearing witness. 

I am watching the children play, and every minute or so, I find myself glancing to where Elsie sleeps in the bassinet between myself and Sophie. She looks so peaceful, but that is to be expected. After all, what can someone do small have to worry about? Dominic and Kit are chasing each other around the garden, at least until Kit stops to show him a treasure she’s discovered, be a bit of shell from a robin’s egg or an earthworm, or the wing of a butterfly. Dominic seems absolutely enraptured by her antics, and he holds each item she places into his palms with the utmost care and attention. It looks as if she is a queen and he is being knighted, the way he stands still at perfect attention and she delicately puts her treasure into his care.

In just a short while, we will all be going to Amelia’s. It’s not a society night, but we plan to read to the children and there will be a potato peel pie. I am so incredibly happy, Sidney. All of my family in one place, except for you and Piers, of course. And Elizabeth, though I think that she is possibly with us at all times we are together, in spirit.

I hope that you are every bit as incandescently happy as I.

With love,  
Juliet


	5. TO SIDNEY FROM JULIET

Sidney,

I hope this letter finds you and Piers well in Australia, as I am writing with wonderful news. Sophie, Dominic, Elsie and Alexander have just left on their way home. No, that is not my wonderful news. I already miss them dearly, nearly as I miss you, but I cannot imagine that Sophie is not trying to pen a letter to you from her seat on the plane.

I won’t keep it a secret any longer, as my excitement is quite overwhelming. Dawsey and I are expecting our first child together. Isn’t that just marvelous? To think that I am going to grow a life, a whole little person, just like Kit and Dominic and baby Elsie! Kit, by the way, is thrilled. She’s very excited to become a big sister, although we’ve not yet told the rest of the Society, so her excitement makes the news a bit of a ticking time bomb if we want to be able to tell them for ourselves.

As with most things in life, Dawsey and I were in immediate agreement as to what names we would like for our baby. It is still early, of course, but we made up our minds rather quickly. If we have a boy, we want to name him Charles. After Charles Lamb, of course.

Should we have a girl, we plan to call her Elizabeth. It seems the only fitting name, I think. What better way to honor the woman who brought us together in the first place? Perhaps she is the red string that tied us all to one another. 

I still find myself sad when I think that I will never have the chance to meet Elizabeth for myself. I feel as though I already know her, through Kit and the Society and all of her belongings, but I do wish I could have truly known her. I love her. How could I not? It may have been Dawsey’s letters that brought me here, but it was her story that enticed me to stay. 

Isola says that Elizabeth is smiling, that wherever she is, she’s with Christian. She says that Elizabeth would have loved me, as well, and that she would want to thank me for loving Kit as much as I do. She says that to console me, I know, but it works.

Anyhow, please plan on returning to Guernsey before next summer. You and Piers – he must come, I will not accept a lack of his presence – will stay in the cottage, which I think you will find most suitable to your liking. I do hope you enjoy becoming an uncle, yet again.

I’ll see the two of you soon. 

All my love,  
Juliet


End file.
